100 Themes Challenge
by The Clockwork Angel
Summary: 100 Themes Challenge: Ranger's Apprentice Style.


**Hello Readers! **

**Yes, I'm aware I have SO many stories to keep working on, but I'm kind of in the mood for doing short little snippets that I can't seem to fit into my stories at all. Thus, the 100 Themes Challenge was introduced to my brain! I tried to explore a variety of characters, aside from my usual Halt and Will. But of course, you'll find plenty of those two in many more stories. Enjoy! **

**1. Introduction**

Will walked into the small cabin he would be calling home. It was meticulously clean and organized, everything having its own, designated place. Will's eyes continued to wander the room until they rested upon a content-looking figure, leaning leisurely back in a comfy chair in front of a wooden coffee table. At the moment, the man's face was obscured by a long piece of parchment, and at his angle, Will could see an oak leaf seal at the top of the page. He noticed that the man wore a similar oak leaf pendant around his neck.

Unsure of how to introduce himself and bring about the man's attention, Will awkwardly shuffled a little further into the living area. Unfortunately, this only brought him a grunt and a greater lack of attention from his soon-to-be mentor. Will started to think that maybe accepting Halt's offer to become a Ranger was a bad idea, considering that things weren't going well so far. If this was what it was going to be on a regular basis, just an awkward silence all the time, he wasn't sure he would make the first week without going insane. He decided to try a different tactic.

"Excuse me," Will began timidly. Will searched his mind for another statement. "Am I on time?" He hoped that by asking Halt a question, the older Ranger would be forced to answer. But again, Will was dismissed with another grunt and shuffling of the parchment. Anger started to get the better of Will, and the rest just tumbled out of his traitorous mouth:

"Please answer me! I'm not very comfortable being your apprentice in the first place, and you're not making it any better by ignoring me on my first day! If me being here is a problem for you, I can just leave!" And with that, Will began to walk back towards the front door. As he placed his hand on the knob, he heard a deep sigh emit from behind the parchment.

"Impulsive, aren't you? You do realize that there are many other polite ways to get my attention." Halt has rolled the parchment up and placed it on his lap, eyes intently staring at Will.

Poor Will was dumbstruck. Had Halt not heard his movements? His question? Or was Halt simply teasing him? The Ranger didn't have a smile on his face. In fact, he looked a tad annoyed. Will felt the urge to defend himself. "I was standing in the room for a while, and when you didn't acknowledge me, I asked you if I was on time. Again, you ignored me….so I got angry. Look, I already feel awkward, and I'm starting to wonder if this was a good idea. Please, just, help me out." Will gave Halt a desperate expression, begging for the Ranger to say something encouraging.

Halt, on his part, was analyzing Will for the first time up close. The lad was skinny and not very muscled. But from past experience, Halt knew that Will's physical looks were deceiving. His body was strong and agile, and though his face was handsome and innocent, he knew Will could be nasty if he wanted to. After all, though that boy Horace had done most of the taunting, Will had thrown some pretty cruel comments at his large enemy. The difference between Will's comments and Horace's comments were that Horace was rude for no reason, whereas Will was provoked. Though a seemingly unimportant trait to think upon, it made all the difference to Halt in his selection of Will as his apprentice. Will was never pointlessly callous to anyone, which represented thoughtfulness and respect for others, two things that would have great importance in his life as a Ranger.

Will shifted uncomfortably under Halt's agonizing gaze, unaware of what the man was thinking of him. Halt abruptly came back to the present, and gestured vaguely towards a small hallway with one room on each side. "You can put your things in the room on the left side." He then picked up the piece of parchment again and returned to his previous task.

Will, defeated, gave an exasperated sigh and headed towards the room Halt had indicated. It was going to be a long apprenticeship….

**2. Love**

Evanlyn shivered and drew her thin blanket around her slim frame. Her breath fogged up in front of her face in great clouds, looking like steam from boiling pot. She shivered again, this time both from the cold, and the long-lost memory of warmth. She and Will had been hiking and living in the mountains for months, and warm was something that was forbidden to them. _That and food,_ Evanlyn thought as she gazed at Will's bony figure. He had insisted that she take most of the food, considering she was a princess and he was a Ranger. He said something about it being his duty to protect the royal family, along with the rest of Araluen, from destruction. She personally thought it was a bit extreme to starve yourself for your country.

But then again, his dedication at such a tender age was charming to her. It was one of the many things that led to her falling in love with her gallant hero. His tenderness, his willingness, his bravery, innocence, intelligence, faith, and good looks were among other factors that attributed to her crush. He was everything a woman could dream for in a man….and that's why he was already taken.

Not long ago, she had confessed her feelings to him. Though he had been gentle and friendly about it, he had denied her, saying that he was in a relationship with a childhood friend. Alyss was her name. She had asked him to describe her, only to watch as his eyes and voice became dreamy with thoughts of his love. Evanlyn instantly knew she had made a mistake in asking once the jealousy began to boil up in her stomach. She had wanted him so badly for so long, only to find that he was happier with someone else. At first, her instincts told her to be angry with him, not only for denying her, but for loving someone other than her. But when she saw the encouraging smile on his face, and the dreamy look in his eyes, she knew he was happy. And happiness was something both of them needed the most at the moment. She began to pat herself on the back for allowing him to remember better times, and figured out another way she could be close to him.

Pulling her blanket tighter around her shoulders, she crawled silently over to where Will was curled up in a ball on the opposite side of the room. He looked quite cold, and Evanlyn had an idea as to how to warm him up.

Crossing over so that she was looking at his face, she curled herself into his abdomen and buried her head in the crook of his neck, breathing in his ginger-like scent. Will muttered incoherently, and Evanlyn couldn't resist giving his soft lips a small peck. Will's eyes opened for a split second before closing again, and Evanlyn tucked her arms against her body and allowed her frame to mold into his, everything fitting perfectly. Though they couldn't be together as a couple, Evanlyn enjoyed sneaking him kisses and cuddles while he was asleep.

**3. Light**

4:00 AM. The slaves were called out of their shack and forced to round up in front of the guards to be accounted for. There was the sound of bare feet slapping against a hardwood floor, muffled groans from those, like Will, who had gone to bed just a couple of hours previous, and strings of curses in a variety of languages.

Will worked on slipping his work boots on and wrapping his hands with bloody rags to protect them from the cold. He then took his thin blanket, rolled it up, and stuffed in under a loose floorboard he had found; it was his secret hiding place for his most treasured possessions. Speaking of which, Will unclasped his bronze oak leaf from his neck and buried it deep within the roll of his blanket, wishing desperately he could keep it on throughout the day. It gave him feelings of strength and endurance. It gave him memories of what it was like outside of life as a slave, and that his position wouldn't last forever. Halt had given Will his word, and Will trusted him with every fiber of his being. All Will had to do was survive and stay in one piece. Will stomped on the floorboard to make it go flat, then headed out into the cold, early morning with the rest of the slaves.

The slaves lined up in a straight line in front of the guards, shivering from both cold and fear. At least one slave was killed by the guards every morning, and it was always someone completely random. No matter how much you behaved, no matter how little you said, and no matter how hard you worked, it didn't matter in lineup. Most of the guards didn't pay attention to those who worked hard and those who didn't, so they wouldn't know who to punish and who to avoid. Will, after about a week of lineups, had begun to have a nagging suspicion that the guards purposefully ignored all the slaves just to choose randomly during the lineup, and thus scare them more. It was required that these men had a feeling of dominance, and it was required that the slaves felt that everything was out of their control.

Will, lost in thought, didn't notice the guard coming towards him until the large man was standing directly in front of him. Will, terrified, looked up into the man's face, and held his intense gaze. Will gulped, feeling the saliva as it got stuck in his dry throat. Though he knew the selection was random, he had never thought that it could possibly be him! No! He had to survive for Halt! He couldn't let this man kill him! But….he couldn't fight back.

The guard just stood and stared at Will for the longest time, assessing him, analyzing him, searching him up and down. Will, in turn, just stared at the man's lined face. He daydreamed about this man possibly having a wife and children. Maybe even a dog or a cat. Maybe he lived in a big house, or maybe he was a desperately poor man, willing to do anything for some money. As the man scrutinized Will, Will got the saddening impression that this man didn't want this any more than he himself did. He saw the man gulp, raise his battle axe….and strike the person directly to Will's left. There was a yelp, and the sound of a body crumpling to the ground.

"Move! Now!" the guard yelled as he strode away, slinging his battle axe over his shoulder as if it was nothing more than a small toy. As the slaves shuffled to their assigned positions, Will looked up at the great expanse of sky, wishing nothing more than to fly away and be free. To just fly amongst the clouds, above the treetops, and into the rising sun. Rising sun! Will started, and whipped his head towards the east. There, for the first time in almost a year, Will saw the sun, in all its morning glory. It was orange, and yellow, and red, and pink all at once. It's rays reflecting upon the buildings, the nearby ocean, and Will's face. He stood there, basking in the beautiful sight that he had so dearly missed. The sun had appeared just moments after he had been spared from death, and Will felt elated at his fortune. He turned to walk away, a smile plastered onto his face, and noticed the dead body lying in the snow. Will was shocked to see one of the bullying Committee members who used to whip younger, smaller slaves with old pieces of rope. Egon, his name was.

Maybe that one guard really DID pay attention….

**4. Dark**

Darkness. His world was engulfed in black. The small beacon of light, so energetic, so lively, was now gone. Taken away. Possibly never coming back. He wanted his little light back. He wanted to embrace the warm presence, hold it, rock it, comfort it. But his light was eons away. Somewhere in a cold desolate wasteland, tortured, starving, yearning for love. He wanted to give the light the love and warmth it had provided him with. In his world of black and darkness, that one little light changed everything. And now, darkness had taken over once again, threatening to seize his mind and drown it in negativity, guilt, and depression.

How could he be so irresponsible with his light? The light was his life. The light was his savior from himself and the deep gloom. He had shoved his light into the cold world of darkness, forcing the light to fend for itself. And in times of hardship, of course his light would shine, emblazing its surroundings with itself! How could he not? It was his very nature. His reason for existing. But even now, the light was being dimmed. With every passing day, he could feel his light fading, slowly fading…

He sat, allowing his monsters to overtake his soul, allowing them to fill him with remorse and guilt. He allowed the darkness to reach out its claws and steal him away. Sitting on the ground, pondering what he had lost, he felt that reaching for the light at the end of the tunnel was futile.

Halt needed to find Will.

**5. Seeking Solace**

A strong knock sounded on the door to Sir David's study. He had just finished reading over some paperwork and applications, and had been planning to retire into a good night's sleep. Upon hearing the knock, he stretched and made his way towards the large oak door at the other end of the room. He opened it quickly, irritated that someone would bother him at this late hour. But all irritation disappeared when he saw his son Gilan, eyes red and teary and cheeks wet. He was wrapped in a thin blanket, hugging it around his slim shoulders. David's heart softened. He knew his son was a wreck since both his mentor and his friend left.

Gilan sniffled. "Hello father," he said quietly. He rubbed his cheeks and eyes, attempting to look presentable. David reached out a hand, ushering his son inside the room. Gilan took his father's hand and squeezed it as hard as he could. David led his son over to one of the upholstered chairs and sat him down. He started to boil some water over the grand fireplace, and he took two china cups out of a cabinet in the back of the room. He retrieved chamomile tea leaves and sprinkled them into the two cups.

Gilan sat in silence during his father's preparations, and didn't say a word until his father sat down in a chair, dragging directly in front of his son. Both men just sat in silence, Gilan looking at the floor and playing with his hands, and David looking at his son. Finally, Gilan spoke.

"I feel so lost." His voice was quiet and choked, like he had a hard time saying the words.

David nodded, expecting a phrase such as this. He knew how hard Gilan was taking the absence of his friends, especially when he blamed himself for their losses. The boy, Will, had been kidnapped by Skandians as he burned Morgarath's bridge across the fissure. Gilan blamed himself for leaving the young man alone in Celtica. Everyone knew that Gilan had done the right thing, but Gilan refused to listen to their explanations.

The self-blame only got worse when Halt was banished in order to rescue his young apprentice. Gilan felt that if he hadn't left Will, Will wouldn't have been kidnapped. And if Will had never been kidnapped, Halt would never have been banished. It was very much like a domino effect, David mused.

Gilan looked up from staring at the floor, red eyes meeting his father's face. "I hate myself, father. How could I have been so stupid! I left him! I fucking left him! He was all alone! He did everything alone!" Gilan burst into tears, covering his face with his hands. David stood and made their tea, handing one cup to Gilan. Gilan sniffled some before eventually accepting the cup. He took a small sip and placed the china on the small table next to his chair. David decided it was time for fatherly wisdom.

"Gilan," David began, "You cannot blame yourself for things that you could not possibly foresee. You cannot see the future. You only did what you knew was right at the time. And at the time, the matter at hand called for you to trust your friends and leave them on their own. What you did was for the greater good: your country. These young people knew that, and by your descriptions of them, I know they hold nothing against you. They sacrificed themselves for their country, and you sacrificed your feelings of protection for them for the good of Araluen. You cannot, I and mean cannot, hold yourself accountable for something that everyone accepted without complaint."

Gilan nodded slowly, but David knew that Gilan was stubborn. He added the final (slightly embellished) touch: "And even Halt was proud that you were able to sacrifice that much for your duty as a Ranger."

Gilan looked up at his father, a small light returning to his eyes. David knew he had done his job well.

* * *

**Explanations: **

**1. **This story was me trying to see what Halt was possibly thinking of Will on Will's first day. In the book, it just gives Will's perspective. So I wanted to try and explore Halt's.

**2. **In the fourth book, it was hinted that Cassandra/Evanlyn had a crush on Will, and again, I wanted to explore that a little more.

**3. **This story was actually somewhat inspired by the World War II Concentration Camps. They would do things similar to this. But I wanted to take away some of the hopelessness of the situation and add a bit of "saving grace" kind of thing.

**4. **I have actually never written in this style before. I kept referring to Will as an "it" throughout the entire story because I didn't want to reveal who I was speaking about until the end. Some probably knew who I was talking from the beginning, but I wanted to keep it interesting.

**5.** This one was pretty basic. I'm trying to explore a variety of characters, and I never give Gilan enough love. Also, in the books, he seems to have a "so-so" relationship with his father. They acted as if they weren't THAT close. So I wanted some David and Gilan comfort action.


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